T H E O K ANAGAN W E EKEND APRIL 21, 2018WINE & DINE B9 Drink it all in Quails’ Gate Viognier 2017 ($24) Chasselas Pinot Blanc Pinot Gris ($18) Quails’ 2017 Gewurztraminer ($16) Orchard Block Gewurztraminer ($21) Quails’ 2017 Dry Riesling ($16) Fort Berens 2017 Pinot Gris ($18) Fort Berens 2017 Riesling ($18) Fort Berens 2017 rose ($18) Blue Mountain 2009 Reserve Brut ($40) Blue Mountain Chardonnay ($21) CedarCreek 2017 Riesling($19) CedarCreek 2017 Pinot Gris ($19) 50th Parallel 2015 Pinot Noir ($29) 50th Parallel 2017 rose ($20) 50th Parallel 2016 Chardonnay ($35) love this time of year. cheeses, but lively enough to match with barbecue. Okanagan wineries are tripping all over themselves After two years as sous chef, Jean-Sebastien Ouellette to release new wine in time for the flood of attention will be taking over as executive chef when Fort Berens’ I and events of the Spring Okanagan Wine Festival, Kitchen opens for the season May 18. May 3-13. Ouellette’s background includes time cooking in As such, there’s myriad wines to taste, enjoy and write France, Italy and Whistler and a passion for about. STEVE small-town living, mountains and pairing wine with local ingredients. Five from Quails’ Gate The Kitchen will be open daily for lunch and on the weekends for dinner and special even The portfolio at West Kelowna’s Quails’ Gate Winery MacNAULL is so extensive it releases its new wines in waves. Blue Mountain A couple of weeks ago, I profiled Quails’ Gate 2017 Fill ‘er Up The Mavety family is doing amazing things at Chenin Blanc ($20), Lucy’s Block rose 2017 ($25), necessary while construction is completed on the winery’s Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars in Okanagan regular 2017 rose, Boucherie Mountain Vineyard new year-round restaurant. Falls. Riesling 2017 ($30) and 2016 Pinot Noir ($27). Home Block is so named because it overlooks the Grapes for all wines are grown on the property This week, five more 2017 whites dropped. winery’s home block of vineyard, rose garden and overlooking Vaseux Lake and winemaker Matt Mavety Quails’ Gate is the only winery in the Okanagan to craft Okanagan Lake. turns them into expressive vintages. a blend from the Swiss-grape Chasselas with Pinot Blanc The construction will also result in a new tasting room The Champagne-method 2009 Reserve Brut ($40) and Pinot Gris ($18). and shop, ready sometime late summer or early fall. benefited from aging in the cellar and is now drinking Its uniqueness shines after being cold fermented in stain- beautifully with a fine mousse backed by citrus, less steel tanks to produce an aromatic sipper with nose From Lillooet strawberry and toast aromas and flavours. and flavours of apple, pear and nectarine. It’s a good news-bad news story for Fort Berens’ An elegant blend of wine from new and used oak barrels The 2017 Dry Riesling ($16) is light, but complex, with 2017 releases. and stainless steel tanks allows minerality, peach, citrus abundant lime and green apple aromas and tastes. The Fraser Canyon’s only winery had a challenging and lemon curd to jumps from the glass with the Viognier is often billed as a nice alternative to growing season, including a cool and wet spring, delayed 2016 Chardonnay ($21). Chardonnay. grape vine shoot development and no rain for three However, Quails’ Gate’s 2017 Shannon Pacific months during a long and hot summer. 50th Parallel Viognier ($24) doesn’t have to be a stand-in for anything. The result was a grape harvest 30 per cent lower than My wife and I took a mini-road trip Sunday to It’s distinctly spectacular as a full-bodied and exotic usual. 50th Parallel, Lake Country’s most far flung winery. aromatic with a perfumed noise of jasmine, honeysuckle However, the reduced crop from the vineyards in It was worth the little extra drive to taste the new and orange blossom with flavours of nectarine, peach and Lillooet produced smaller berries bursting with releases. ginger. concentrated flavours. Some surprising, but welcome, pomegranate flavours The winery’s regular 2017 Gewurztraminer ($16) is And that has shown up in the new release wines. emerge from the 2017 rose ($20) along with strawberry, classic of the varietal with nose and flavours of lychee, The 2017 Pinot Gris ($18) is a rich and juicy byproduct watermelon, vanilla and rose hips. guava and ginger. of most of the fruit being fermented in stainless steel tanks, From a full year in new and neutral French oak Quails’ Gate amps up its Gewurztraminer game with the but 15 per cent also seeing some time in oak barrels. barrels, the 2016 Chardonnay ($35) has emerged 2017 Orchard Block ($21) single-vineyard expression of It all makes for a medium-bodied wines with extra full-bodied and California-style-complex with a nose the grape. texture to its pineapple, beach and mango profile. and tastes of pineapple, butterscotch, brioche and toasted This wine is fuller bodied than the regular and more Slightly off-dry, but zippy, the 2017 Riesling ($18) serves cashews. complex with the addition of rose petal and orange up pear, pineapple, lychee, apple and lime aromas and The 2015 Pinot Noir ($29) gives you raspberry to blossom aromas and more peach, nectarine and spice flavours. start, followed by some dried herbs and anise. flavours. The 80 per cent Pinot Noir and 20 per cent Gamay blend Textbook CedarCreek built a robust 2017 rose ($18). Steve MacNaull is The Okanagan Weekend’s Dry and vibrant pink, its profile of strawberries and business and wine reporter and columnist. Expect textbook Riesling with CedarCreek’s 2017 ($19) cream is delicate enough to be paired with salads and light Reach him at [email protected]. edition of this Germany variety, that’s also happy to be known as the king of grapes. It’s a low-alcohol perfect balance of acidity and sweetness that delivers fresh whiffs and tastes of lemon, lime and peach. The 2017 Pinot Gris ($19) is styled after wines made in the Alsace region of France, which are influenced by close proximity to Germany. A portion of the wine was also aged in oak to add some extra richness to a wine that combines pear, nectarine and baked apple strudel aromas and tastes with aplomb. CedarCreek is also gearing up for spring wine festival at its Lakeshore Road location in Kelowna. Taste the 2017 releases for free anytime between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the entire fest. On May 5, CedarCreek along with its Lakeshore Wine Route neighbours, Summerhill Pyramid, St. Hubertus and Tantalus, is hosting its annual dog-friendly Unleashed party. Bring your pooch and visit any, or all, of the proper- ties for wine-and-canape-paired tastings and activi- ties for canines. Donations will be accepted for the SPCA. Looking a little farther out, CedarCreek is starting up lunch service and moving its Vineyard Terrace Restaurant to its outdoor pavillion June 1. The temporary, albeit stunning, location is.